Happy 2011!!

Puerta del Sol / New Year's

Happy New Year!  I hope that 2011 brings only the best of the best; laughter, love, fun, great company, exceptionally good health, etc.  11 is a great number, I have always liked it.  I was born in November and according to an astrology webpage, 2011 is going to be an exciting year for me and my fellow scorps, full of ups and downs that include lots of social activity.  I am not sure how well those pages can be trusted but they are always fun to read.  

Last night, Ismael and I celebrated the New Year at his brother and sister-in-law’s house in a town called Coslada.  My sister-in-law’s family was there; her mom, sisters and their husbands and kids.  It was a nice night.  I was the DD so I had to drive home which I found extremely scary being that I have driven about a dozen times in the last nine and a half years.  Ismael insisted on not only blaring the music but on turning on the windshield wipers to clean the windows and it made me extremely paranoid.  In Europe, there are tons of retondas and you have to get in the proper lane to exit. 

Last year, we rang in the New Year in Rome, which was amazing.  As we were walking across the Ponte Cestio (Travestere) Bridge, some Italians noticed that we didn’t have champagne and next thing we knew, we were drinking Asti spumante out of plastic champagne flutes.  Fireworks lighted the midnight sky, it was amazing.

Traditionally, we have celebrated the New Year with two dear friends who travelled to Israel this year.

In Spain, the noche vieja is a pretty big event.  Many chose to celebrate in the Puerta del Sol, the epi-center of Spain.  We went one year and we had a blast; it was Ismael’s first time celebrating it with all of the tourists!!  Traditionally, at midnight, you are to eat a grape with each of the 12 tolls of the bell.  The grapes in Spain usually have pits so you have to prepare your grapes in advance, take out the pits and some people peal off the skin.  After you have stuffed your mouth with the 12 pudgy grapes, you wish everybody a happy new year, which undoubtedly hinders your speech and sounds so funny, and then you follow that by giving a kiss on each side of the cheek which usually makes the grapes turn to mush.

Preparing the grapes

It is also a tradition to wear red undies.  I tried to figure out the origins of the red undies but didn’t find anything extremely relevant.  All of the lingerie stores sell them.  I sent my sister a pair of red thongs last year and when she opened the wrapped present her kids asked where the butt of the undies was!

Since I have eaten my 12 grapes and wore my red undies, I am now prepared for 2011!  However you chose to ring in the new year, I would like to wish you a Happy New Year and I only hope that 2011 will be everything that you hope for.